Cates, Baumann Advance to Battle of Malta Day 2

WSOP Main Event final-table bubble girl Gaëlle Baumann is through to Day 2.

The first of two Day 1 flights at the PokerListings.com Battle of Malta is over and both Daniel “Jungleman” Cates and Gaëlle Baumann made it through to Day 2.

153 players bought in this afternoon in at the Portomaso Casino, meaning this tournament is already half of the way to reaching its €150k guarantee.

Leading the pack of 67 who survived to earn a seat on Day 2 is France’s Michael Agoutborde who bagged 135,500 when all was said and done.

Also finishing in the top ten was Gareth Edwards, Director of Marketing and Strategy at 888.com.

Gaëlle Baumann, who garnered worldwide poker celebrity by bubbling the WSOP Main Event final table this year, finished in 15th position tonight with an even 72,000 while high-stakes online specialist Dan Cates ended up with 51,200, good for 26th heading into Day 2.

Strassmann, Dato, Neuville to Play BoM Day 1B

Tournament staff are expecting Day 1B’s field to significantly outmatch today’s, and we already have a few confirmations as far as big-name players who will be in on the action.

PokerListings.com is proud to host its first live tournament.

Johannes Strassmann is one of the strongest young poker players in Germany and with more than $1.1 million in live tournament earnings he’s already cracked the top 25 on the all-time German money list.

He’s got nine cashes on the European Poker Tour, three of which were six-figure scores. He’s also cashed at the WSOP on five separate occasions.

Pierre Neuville is third on the all-time Belgian money list with $1.45 million in live cashes. He won the “Best Online Qualifier” award on the EPT last year where he’s notched an impressive 13 cashes.

Andrea Dato has been cashing with startling regularity in live events in Italy and abroad, racking up more than $600k in earnings in the last few years.

Tomorrow these three powerhouse players will join hordes of poker players hungry for a piece of the Battle of Malta cash. Action begins at 2pm.

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